Beginnings and Ends
by ArwendeImladris
Summary: Spock/Kirk slash. The timeline changes even further when Amanda brings young Spock to Earth for a visit – and straight into the path of his destiny. But the course of true love doesn’t always run smooth…
1. Chapter 1 of 2

Title: Beginnings and Ends 1/2  
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek and I do not make any money from these fictions.  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: K/S slash. The timeline changes even further when Amanda brings young Spock to Earth for a visit – and straight into the path of his destiny. But the course of true love doesn't always run smooth…

*****

Amanda stepped off the shuttle and onto the hard packed dirt of Earth – of Riverside, Iowa to be more specific.

"Mother," Spock said, wrinkling up his nose in distaste – and then realizing what he was doing and smoothing his features back into Vulcan calm. "Earth is much cooler than Vulcan. And much…bluer."

Amanda smiled, shuffling her son towards the next shuttle. Spock walked stiffly alongside her while she told him about the beauty of Canada.

Just as they were about to step onto their private shuttle, a blonde woman burst out of the door, running down the stairs.

"The engine!" the woman exclaimed, grabbing Spock's hand and pulling him away from the shuttle, gesturing for Amanda to follow.

The next second, the sound of an explosion filled the air. Amanda was thrown roughly to the ground, hitting her head.

The last thing she saw before she faded to unconsciousness was the blonde woman laying over her son, protecting him with her body.

*****

Amanda opened her eyes, blurrily taking in the white walls of what she assumed to be a hospital. Memories came back to her – and she remembered the explosion.

Her elevated heart rate brought a doctor into the room, and Amanda roughly demanded to see Spock.

She could not help the breath of relief that escaped her when her son sedately walked in after the doctor, perfectly fine except for a small bandage on his forehead.

"Spock," she said in relief. "I'm…so glad."

The doctor explained her injuries to her, and said that she should be released by the next day.

"Wait," Amanda called before the woman left. "The blonde woman who led us away from the shuttle – is she all right?"

"Unfortunately, Lieutenant Commander Winona Kirk is in grave condition at the moment," the doctor informed her.

Amanda nodded her head, feeling sick to her stomach – before pulling Spock into her arms.

Amanda owed that woman her son – and she didn't want Ms. Kirk to pay for it with her life…

*****

True to the doctor's word, Amanda was released from the hospital the next morning. She was told that Lieutenant Commander Kirk was still in grave condition, and they did not expect her to survive the next few hours.

Amanda thought it fitting that she and Spock go to the woman's bedside to say goodbye – and thank you.

When the human and her half-Vulcan son walked into the lieutenant commander's private room, a middle-aged man and a small boy of perhaps three or four were already there.

The boy turned large blue eyes to her upon her entrance, and Amanda resisted the urge to cuddle him to her chest at the pain and fear she saw there.

"My name is Amanda Grayson," she said softly to the little boy, sparing a glance for the man sitting silently at the lieutenant commander's bedside.

"Momma said I'm not s'posed to talk to strangers," the boy muttered, not meeting her eyes.

"This is my son Spock," Amanda told him. "We just wanted to say 'thank you.' Your mother saved our lives – she's a hero."

"Just like Daddy," the boy murmured sadly, little fingers clenched tightly into fists as a few large tears dripped from his eyes.

Amanda gasped, connecting the dots – Acting Captain George Kirk of the U.S.S. Kelvin…and his wife who gave birth during his heroic sacrifice – Winona.

"J-Jim?" came a weak voice from the bed, and the small blonde boy quickly moved to his mother's side.

"Mom…" he cried. "Don't leave. Please. I promise…I'll clean my room and take baths and do everything you say. I love you."

Amanda could not help the tears that fell from her eyes as the woman raised a weak hand to stroke her son's cheek.

" 'M sorry, Jim," she muttered, her eyes falling closed. "I'm gonna be wit' your daddy, now. Love you, baby boy."

Doctors and nurses flooded into the room as the machine monitoring her heart blared to life, but there was nothing they could do. They let Jim press one last kiss to his mother's cheek before shuffling them all out of the room.

"I guess yer going to foster care now, boy," the man muttered with a sick grin, roughly grabbing the little boy's arm.

Jim looked up at him fearfully, tears clouding his eyes as he tried to pull away.

"Excuse me," Amanda interjected. "Who exactly are you?"

"I am…I was Winona's fiancee," the man said. "And I'll be damned before I take care of her little brat."

Spock looked down at the scared little boy who had just lost his mother – and he imagined losing his own.

Decision made, he reached up to deliver a Vulcan nerve pinch to the human male, watching with some illogical satisfaction as the man dropped to the ground.

Hard.

Jim stared up at him with wide blue eyes – and then threw his little arms around the older boy's neck for a hug.

That was their first beginning…

*****

_Four years later…(Spock is 11, Jim is 8)_

"Spock!" Jim exclaimed loudly, running down the halls towards his older brother's bedroom. "Spock!"

The half-Vulcan opened the door, staring down at the blonde with no emotions on his bloody and bruise face.

Jim gasped, raising a hand to his mouth in shock.

"Oh, Spock – I hope you gave it to them good!" Jim told him, reaching forward for a hug.

Spock stepped back before they could embrace, looking down at his coolly.

"The fight was concluded to my advantage," the young half-Vulcan said evenly. "Now if you will excuse me, James, I need to proceed with my studies if I intend to be accepted into the Vulcan Science Academy."

Jim could not help the tears that pooled in his eyes, though he refused to let them fall – Spock would doubtless call his emotions illogical and irrational.

"B-but…But I thought we were going to join Starfleet together!" Jim protested.

"My plans for the future have changed," Spock said simply, before closing the door in the younger boy's face.

Jim stared blankly at the closed door, before running back down the halls and outside into the scorching Vulcan heat.

He was not found until many hours later, dehydrated and suffering from heat stroke.

And after that, Amanda no longer had a choice but to allow Commander Christopher Pike guardianship of the young boy – and Jim found himself shipped to Earth without so much as a good-bye from the older brother that he idolized.

That was their first end…

*****

_Seventeen years later…(Spock is 28, Jim is 25)_

Jim walked into his Advanced Xenolinguistics class, dragging Bones and Nyota along with him.

"This class is going to be great, you guys!" he said exuberantly. "My dad said that we're going to be learning Vulcan and Romulan and Andorian and…"

"Can it, Jim," Bones grumbled, though the fond smile playing at his lips betrayed him.

And Nyota was too elegant to betray her own enthusiasm, of course.

"I hear that the professor is Vulcan!" she gossiped – all right, so maybe she wasn't too elegant to be enthusiastic over the class.

With Jim Kirk bouncing all over the place like an energetic puppy, all wide blue eyes and ruffled blonde hair, it was hard to keep a straight face.

"Vulcan?" Jim asked, uncertainly.

"Don't you look up which professors are teaching your classes, kid?" Bones asked. "You dragged me into this class and you don't even know who's teaching it? Jim? Jim, are you all right?"

Jim had swallowed roughly and all the blood drained out of his face as he looked towards the front of the classroom.

"I know who's teaching it, Bones," he said flatly, before dragging them to the chairs in the very back of the lecture hall. "And I'm switching out as soon as I can."

Bones and Nyota looked to where Jim was staring, and they found two dark brown eyes staring back out of an emotionless Vulcan face.

And that was their second beginning…

*****

"Father!" Jim shouted, walking into the office of Captain Christopher Pike – normally known as "Dad".

It reverted to "Father" when Jim was pissed off.

"Yes, son?" the older man asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"Why didn't you tell me Spock was on Earth? He's a Commander in Starfleet! How long has he been here and you didn't tell me?"

Pike sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Jim…" he trailed off. "Commander Spock joined when you were in college, rebelling against the idea of Starfleet. I figured there was no reason to tell you he was on Earth if you were never going to see each other. And then you graduated business school and decided to join, and I was afraid telling you about him would change your mind again."

"I've been here for three years!" Jim protested. "You thought I would quit after I joined? I'm James Tiberius Kirk – I don't _quit_!"

His father looked up at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, son," he apologized – but Jim didn't want to hear it.

He stormed back out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

He would show them all…

*****

_A few months later…_

"I believe I have the right to face my accuser," Jim said, back ramrod straight as he looked ahead, refusing to meet his father's eyes.

Jim swallowed back his bile as Spock stood up, walking down to the other podium.

Jim had just wanted to show his father and Spock that he refused to give up – that he refused to believe in no-win scenarios.

Instead, his former brother accused him of cheating and humiliated him in front of the entire academy – bringing up his father's sacrifice as a low blow.

It was their second ending…


	2. Chapter 2 of 2

Title: Beginnings and Ends 2/2  
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek and I do not make any money from these fictions.  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: K/S slash. The timeline changes even further when Amanda brings young Spock to Earth for a visit – and straight into the path of his destiny. But the course of true love doesn't always run smooth…

*****

_After the events of the movie…_

And this is their true beginning, though it came close to being their final end…

Spock walked into sickbay, needing to ascertain the conditions of both Captain Pike and Acting Captain Kirk.

Captain Pike was pale and still, lying unconscious on a medical bed. Nurse Chapel looked up from where she was examining his charts, standing at attention.

"Status," Spock asked evenly.

"Commander Spock," she acknowledged. "Captain Pike should make a full recovery, although he may need to use a wheelchair for a while."

Spock nodded, moving on to the Chief Medical Officer's private office - now held by Doctor McCoy.

Jim's best friend and closest confidante.

Spock's sensitive ears picked up the sounds of an argument inside the office, and the half-Vulcan stopped just outside the door for a moment.

"Dammit, Jim," Doctor McCoy muttered. "How many times were you strangled in the past twenty-four hours?"

"Bones..." Jim whined, voice raspy and low.

"How many times, Jim?" the doctor questioned again, voice hard.

"Three," the acting captain rasped. "Is Dad going to be okay?"

"Captain Pike will be fine, Jim - stop trying to change the subject," Doctor McCoy reprimanded. "And you were strangled three times? How did you manage that?"

"I'm not trying to change the subject - I'm worried!" Jim protested weakly. "And Nero and Ayel both had their hands around my neck. Nero got called away before he could finish me off, and I managed to grab Ayel's gun to shoot him."

"And that green-blooded hobgoblin was the third," Doctor McCoy grumbled to himself.

"He was actually the first," Jim disputed weakly. "And don't blame him - his dad just died, and I purposely set out to prove he was emotionally compromised."

Silence reigned for a few seconds, and Spock raised his hand to knock on the office door, but a low curse from the doctor stilled him once again.

"Jim? There are fucking claw marks on your back!" Doctor McCoy exclaimed. "How the fuck did you get these?"

"Delta Vega," Jim murmured back lowly.

Spock did not believe that he had ever gone so still in his life.

"Delta Vega?" Doctor McCoy questioned. "Spock told me the planet was safe!"

Jim snorted in disbelief.

"There was some weird white snow monster thing that wanted to eat me, and then it was thrown aside by this giant spider thing with a really long tongue and pointy legs. If it wasn't for that other Spock, the thing would have made a meal out of me," Jim attempted humor, but it fell flat.

Especially to Spock, who felt as if the inertial dampeners on the Enterprise had just failed.

He had lost his planet and his father, but thankfully had managed to beam aboard with his mother and most of the Vulcan elders. When Jim had questioned his authority, Spock deduced that the only way to prevent his emotional compromise and keep command would be to remove his beloved, unknowing t'hy'la from the danger of the ensuing mission.

So he had used Jim's insubordination to maroon him on Delta Vega - a planet he believed safe - instead of confining him to the brig or quarters.

And if it was not for his alternate self - the ambassador who had previously piloted the Jellyfish - Jim would have died on that planet.

Spock would have taken the Enterprise to rendezvous with the rest of the Fleet in the Laurentian System, the Earth would have been consumed by a black hole, and the Enterprise and the rest of the Fleet - as well as the rest of the Federation planets - would have most probably been destroyed by Nero.

And if they had not been, Spock would have returned to Delta Vega to recover Jim, only to find whatever might have remained of his body after the indigenous creature had consumed his meal.

Spock closed his eyes against that thought, breathing deeply.

He owed his counterpart everything, because Jim - Jim was everything.

Spock finally raised his hand to knock on the CMO's office door, and he entered the room on Dr. McCoy's gruff "Come."

"Spock," Jim rasped a greeting, voice rough from his strangling and face bloody and pale from too much fighting and not enough sleep and eyes too bright on fading adrenaline – and he was still the most beautiful thing Spock had ever seen.

Because he was there, and breathing, and _alive_.

"James," Spock murmured in response, dark eyes taking in every detail of the acting captain's appearance.

His eyes could not help but wander to Jim's bare chest – and the bruises blooming purple underneath his pale skin.

Spock did not want to see Jim's back, because he knew it would raise illogical emotions in him.

But Dr. McCoy had other ideas, and he forcibly pulled Spock behind Jim so the half-Vulcan could get a good look at the deep claw marks and scratches littering his back.

"You said that Delta Vega was _safe_, you bastard!" the doctor accused. "You said he would be _fine_ – that you couldn't function if you had to worry about him being in danger on board, as well. He was almost _eaten_!"

"And not even the good way…" Jim interjected, trying to lighten the mood as he grabbed the scrubs Bones had left nearby for him to change into.

"Don't you dare put those on," Bones growled. "I need to run the dermal regenerator over those before they become infected and kill you."

Spock stood still and silent as the doctor meticulously healed all of Jim's wounds, leaving the half-Vulcan to stare at the again-flawless skin of Jim's bare back.

"Can I put some clothes on, now, or are you guys having too much fun ogling me?" Jim joked.

The doctor just stared back at him flatly, a scowl pulling his lips down.

"I'm going to go check on Pike," he grumbled, walking to the door.

He went the long way so he brushed by Spock on the way out, and the doctor growled low under his breath, knowing that sensitive Vulcan ears would hear every word: "You hurt him again? Keep in mind that I can kill you dozens of ways without leaving any evidence."

Spock gave the doctor a curt nod.

"Do you need something, Spock?" Jim asked, jumping up and pulling the scrubs on.

"James…" the Vulcan began, uncharacteristically lost for words. "I wish to apologize…"

"It's fine, Spock," Jim interrupted. "I purposefully goaded you – you have to know that. If anyone should apologize, it's me. I'm sorry for what I said about Sarek. I know you loved him. I did, too. I was so lucky that you guys took me in when I was little. Who knows where I would be now if you hadn't."

Jim paused as he took a breath, but Spock interrupted him with a fierce, possessive kiss before he could continue.

"You have nothing to apologize for," the Vulcan told him seriously. "But I have much. I am sorry for physically harming you. I am sorry for accusing you of cheating on the _Kobayashi Maru_, when you were just showing your commendable determination when faced with impossible odds. I am sorry for not informing you of my decision to join Starfleet, and then treating you negatively as my student. I apologize for allowing you to leave as you did, and then never responding to any of your communications. I…"

It was Jim's turn to interrupt Spock with a kiss.

"Why?" he asked softly, his breath brushing against Spock's lips. "I thought…I thought you hated me. You looked at me as if you hated me. Ever since your fight…"

Spock closed his eyes against the pain in Jim's bright baby blues.

"Savak and the others threatened to attack you where I could not protect you in retaliation for the damage I inflicted during…my emotional response," Spock replied. "I thought it only logical for you to return to Earth, where you could be amongst your own people and avoid the illogical prejudice of my Vulcan peers. I concluded that if I was cruel to you, you would logically decide to accept Christopher Pike's offer of guardianship. I did not intend for you to be injured."

Jim looked up at the Vulcan, Spock's explanation only satisfying some of his questions.

"But once I was gone…why didn't you ever answer my communications? I talked to your mother and father – Amanda even came to visit me on Earth a few times!" Jim pointed out.

"I had decided to embrace my Vulcan heritage, and both you and my mother were obstacles in the path to _Kolinahr_," Spock admitted.

Jim recoiled, pulling back at being called an "obstacle" – but Spock's warm hand gripped his wrist gently, not allowing him to back away.

"You inspire emotions in me...emotions I tried so desperately to control," Spock told him. "And when I rejected the offer to attend the Vulcan Science Academy and joined Starfleet…you were attending university. Your father told me that you were content with my absence, and I thought it illogical to interfere."

"And once I joined Starfleet?" Jim questioned, blue eyes bright and searching.

Spock could not meet those eyes.

"Spock?" Jim demanded. "Answer me."

"I may have felt the illogical emotion of…jealousy," Spock told him.

"Jealousy?" Jim asked, incredulously. "Jealousy over what?"

"Your relationship with Dr. McCoy," the Vulcan said, embarrassment coloring his cheeks a faint green.

Jim blinked in shock.

"Bones is my best friend," he told him. "But Spock? You're my friend, my brother…and I'm hoping all these kisses mean that you are now my lover."

"T'hy'la," Spock agreed, dipping his head for another passionate kiss and pulling Jim into his warm embrace.

Neither heard the door open, but both heard Bones's indignant: "Goddammit, Jim – I'm a doctor, not a voyeur! Get a room!"

So they did.

And as far as beginnings went?

Well, Spock and Jim wouldn't have changed it for the Enterprise.

(They got her anyway, of course. How else would they boldly go where no other had ever gone before?)


End file.
